The names id Software and John Carmack have been inseparable since he co-founded the company 22 years ago. However, Carmack is now former founder and technical developer at the company as he has taken up a position at Oculus VR, the company behind the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.

Carmack becomes chief technology officer at the company and will be in charge of development at Oculus’ new Dallas office. It’s unclear whether Carmack has severed all ties with id Software or not at this point. He may retain some form of relationship and role there, but it clearly won’t be technical director anymore.

The legendary programmer has been a fan and promoter of the Oculus Rift ever since it appeared. And clearly his enthusiasm for the virtual reality tech went well beyond what he showed in public, to the point where he wants to play an active role in developing it.

The plan now is for Carmack to build a team around him to continue development of the Oculus Rift before releasing it as a consumer product. Dev kits have been distributed for a few months now, but there’s work to be done before the headset is ready for the masses. And having John Carmack giving the project his full focus should fill everyone with confidence.

While this is a great news for Oculus VR, it’s a major blow for id Software and parent company Zenimax. Carmack has always led the way with his game engines, and set the bar ever higher for others to follow. They have now lost that talent, although he has left behind a very experienced team of engineers at id and could still play some small part in the studio’s future.

Update: It has now been confirmed via Twitter that Carmack retains a role at id Software. The tweet states

“Happy to say @id_aa_carmack is not leaving id & will continue to provide leadership for our games in development.”